This invention is directed to ostomy systems, and more particularly to a novel ostomy system that permits repeated removal of an adhesively installed ostomy pouch to permit repositioning of the pouch around the stoma.
Ostomy systems with adhesive coupling devices for securing an ostomy pouch around a stoma are shown in European Patent Application Publication 0 611 122 A1. After an ostomy pouch has been adhesively secured around a stoma, it is often desirable to make a further readjustment of the pouch position. However, it is well known that removal of an adhesively secured pouch from its position around a stoma can cause wrinkling or kinks in the faceplate of the pouch that includes the adhesive coupling member. Pouch removal can also cause wrinkling and kinks in a body-side mounting wafer that surrounds the stoma and forms a landing surface for the pouch faceplate when the pouch is adhesively secured to the abdominal area.
Removal and resecurement of an adhesively mounted closed-end pouch after the pouch has been worn for at least a day is especially troublesome since the mounting wafer landing surface for the pouch does not usually remain flat and smooth after a full day's wear. Readherence of the pouch to a non-smooth landing surface is likely to produce gaps or channels at the adhesive interface between the pouch faceplate and the body-side mounting wafer. Such gaps are detrimental to the integrity of the seal between the pouch and wafer, and can provide a path for undesirable leakage of vapor and material from the pouch.
Thus, an ostomy system which has leaks at the interface between the pouch and the body-side wafer due to repositioning of the pouch may require complete replacement of the entire system before it has been used for the normal time duration.
It is also common practice for a user to have assistance in placing or positioning a pouch on the abdomen in order to ensure that the pouch is satisfactorily positioned around the stoma. However, if assistance is not available when needed, the user may proceed to install the ostomy pouch without assistance, thereby risking unsatisfactory positioning and a need for readjustment of the pouch position.
The risk of wrinkle formation at the interface between an adhesively secured pouch and a body-side wafer because of a prospective need for repositioning of the pouch can discourage use of adhesively secured pouches, even though adhesive coupling is generally less bulky than mechanical coupling devices.
It is thus desirable to provide an ostomy system that permits easy removal and repositioning of an adhesively secured pouch without damaging the pouch faceplate or the mounting wafer and without compromising the leak-tight securement of the pouch during such repositioning.